They didn’t just fire this years “Miss San Antonio” because she’d gained weight. They fired her because she gained enough weight to make it to a size 2, because apparently that’s just too plump to be a beauty queen in Texas. Or at least, that’s what seventeen year old Domonique Ramirez claims. She received an email from the Miss Bexar County Organization last month informing her that they were taking her crown for violating her contract, namely, gaining enough weight that she didn’t fit into her wardrobe at a photo shoot.
Pageant spokeswoman Linda Woods told ABC that she had advised Ramirez, who is in the running for the Miss Texas competition, to train for the upcoming state wide pageant, “like any elite athlete.” And in a radio interview with local station KTSA, Woods reportedly added, “I said, you know, ‘Get off the tacos, get off the chips and the soda.’” But how small is this seventeen year old girl supposed to be if a size two isn’t good enough?
Of course, the pageant’s officials claim that they fired Ramirez primarily because she was showing up late for events or bringing her boyfriend along to them. They haven’t denied, that the weight gain is part of the problem. Ramirez says she’s showed up for ever required event, kept her boyfriend at home and is working with a trainer to get in shape for the Miss Texas competition. And the MBCO’s former director, Glynda Coyle, says Ramirez always did “a wonderful job.”
The court has granted Ramirez a temporary restraining order to keep the pageant board from naming a new winner. Ramirez will be back in court on Feb. 16 to fight for her right to compete for the Miss Texas title.
